1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a transparent plastic film, which is suitable for screening (shielding) electromagnetic waves, and a method by which a transparent plastic film of this type can be produced.
2. Background Description
Devices and systems from the field of modern technologies such as, for example, mobile radio telephone service, satellite television, microwave technology or radar technology are sources of electromagnetic fields. Other electrical devices as well as biological systems (human beings, animals and plants) are exposed to these fields, whereby their ability to function or their quality of life can be negatively impacted.
It is known that electrical devices can be protected with respect to the impact of electromagnetic radiation, and vice versa, that the electromagnetic radiated interference emitted by electrical devices can be suppressed.
The prior art therefore discloses various devices for screening electromagnetic waves, by which either the radiation of electromagnetic fields can be decreased or the action of electromagnetic fields produced by other devices can be reduced.
The protection from electromagnetic fields is based essentially on two physical principles. On the one hand it is possible to absorb electromagnetic fields by dielectric materials. On the other hand, however, it is also possible to reflect electromagnetic waves by electrically conducting materials.
The methodology of coating housing parts with electrically conducting layers, composed of metals that conduct electric current very well, such as, for example, copper or aluminum, is widespread. Another methodology lies in the use of composite materials that contain electrically conducting constituents. Thus, for example, films are known that are coated with an electrically conducting material (DE 199 11 304 A1). When films coated in this manner are applied, for example, to the housing of an electrically operated device, electromagnetic waves that act on the device can be screened and the functional efficiency of the device can thus be maintained.
Many modern devices require transparent parts in order to ensure an optoelectronic function. Often a transparent part of this type is embodied as a display element or a screen, which serves as an information interface. For these cases of use the above-referenced widespread methods of electromagnetic screening cannot be applied because they are not transparent.
One possible alternative lies in the coating of a transparent component with a transparent and conductive layer, such as, for example, indium tin oxide. However, layers of this type often have only an unsatisfactory screening with respect to electromagnetic radiation. The reason for this is that the specific conductivity of transparent layers of this type is much lower compared to the above-mentioned metals. While the best layers of indium tin oxide reach a specific resistance of 1×10−4 ohm cm, the value for copper is approximately 1.7×10−6 ohm cm and that for aluminum is approximately 2.6×10−6 ohm cm. The specific resistance of a transparent oxide is thus much greater. If a component to be coated is made of plastic and not of glass, the difference is even greater. In this case due to the temperatures with an upper limit during the coating operation only approximately 5×10−4 ohm cm is achieved with the use of indium tin oxide.
An improvement with respect to the specific resistance is provided by so-called IMI (insulator-metal-insulator) layer systems. With these layer systems the electromagnetic screening is caused virtually exclusively by the thin metal layer, which is embedded between the two insulator layers. Silver or silver alloys, in some cases also gold, are mostly used as the metal.
An insulator layer from an IMI layer system can be composed of different materials. Indium oxide doped with 10% tin oxide (also referred to as ITO) is widespread. The use of materials such as tin oxide, zinc oxide or titanium oxide is also known. One of the difficulties in the use of IMI layer systems is the restricted spectral transmission range of these layer systems. Usually an attempt is made to coordinate the layer thicknesses and the layer properties of the individual layers with one another such that a high transmission is achieved in the visible spectral range, that is, in the wavelength range of the light between 380 nm and 780 nm. Typical IMI layer systems of the structure ITO/silver/ITO on PET film achieve a transmission of over 80% with the light wavelength of 550 nm (total transmission including the film). A typical value for the layer thickness of the ITO layer is thereby between 30 nm and 40 nm. The transmission value at the edges of the visible spectral range drops considerably, however. For example, the above-referenced typical ITO/silver/ITO layer system with the light wavelength of 400 nm shows a transmission of only 60%.
Another disadvantage of layer systems of this type is that over the course of time the silver diffuses into adjacent layers or even into a film substrate, whereby the transparency and thus the functionality of the layer system is negatively affected.